{"id":101589,"date":"2019-08-08T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T14:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=101589"},"modified":"2019-09-26T06:36:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T10:36:30","slug":"ucf-researcher-works-to-make-left-turns-safer-more-efficient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-researcher-works-to-make-left-turns-safer-more-efficient\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Soon, Floridians May No Longer Need to Wait to Turn Left on Red"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waiting for a left-turn signal to change at an intersection can seem like an eternity, especially when there is no oncoming traffic.<\/p>\n

However, a University of Central Florida researcher is working to speed up that process while also making intersections safer by using real-time traffic-condition data to create responsive left turn signals.<\/p>\n

The work is part of a recently completed Florida Department of Transportation<\/a>-funded project that began in 2012. Some of the latest findings were published by FDOT this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a common frustration, and FDOT was getting complaints,\u201d says Hatem Abou-Senna ’03MS ’12PhD<\/strong>, an assistant professor in UCF\u2019s Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering<\/a>, who led the research. \u201cLike if you\u2019re sitting in the left-turn lane, and you see there\u2019s no traffic, why is it red? Why can\u2019t a left turn be permitted?\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety is also a major concern with left turns, both for cars and pedestrians, Abou-Senna says.<\/p>\n

Left-turn crashes are some of the most common types of crashes, after rear-end crashes, with some studies showing they represent almost 20 percent of all car accidents. Unsafe left turns can also be deadly to pedestrians attempting to cross the street at intersections.<\/p>\n

In the recently published report, the researchers showed the effectiveness of a decision-support system for improving left-turn signals that\u2019s based on real-time traffic data and can be linked into existing signal controls.<\/p>\n

The system can override a turn-prohibiting red turn arrow on a signal head and switch it to a permissive, flashing yellow arrow when the system detects a long period in which there is no oncoming traffic and no pedestrians have hit a crosswalk push button.<\/p>\n